Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-124). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2009. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis. 1976. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Engineering. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Arthur R. Shean. / M.S.

Multiphase pipe flow is investigated using proper orthogonal decomposition for tomographic X-ray data, where holdup, cross-sectional phase distributions and phase interface characteristics within the pipe are obtained. Six cases of stratified and mixed flow with water content of 10%, 30% and 80% are investigated to gain insight into effects of velocity and proportion of water on the flow fields. Dispersed and slug flows are separately analyzed to consider the added interface complexity of the flow fields. These regimes are also highly applicable to industry operational flows. Instantaneous and fluctuating phase fractions of the four flow regime are analyzed and reduced order dynamical descriptions are generated. Stratified flow cases display coherent structures that highlight the liquid-liquid interface location while the mixed flow cases show minimal coherence of the eigenmodes. The dispersed flow displays coherent structures for the first few modes near the horizontal center of the pipe, representing the liquid-liquid interface location while the slug flow case shows coherent structures that correspond to the cyclical formation and break up of the slug in the first 5 modes. The low order descriptions of the high water content, stratified flow field indicates that main characteristics can be captured with minimal degrees of freedom. Reconstructions of the dispersed flow and slug flow cases indicate that dominant features are observed in the low order dynamical description utilizing less than 1% of the full order model. POD temporal coefficients a1, a2 and a3 show a high level of interdependence for the slug flow case. The coefficients also describe the phase fraction holdup as a function of time for both dispersed and slug flow. The second coefficient, a2, and the centerline holdup profile show a mean percent difference below 9% between the two curves. The mathematical description obtained from the decomposition will deepen the understanding of multiphase flow characteristics and is applicable to long distance multiphase transport pipelines, fluidized beds, hydroelectric power and nuclear processes to name a few.

Microscale fluid processes are an increasingly important subgroup of fluid mechanics. Applications for heat transfer and micro-electro-mechanical devices use flows on the scale of less than one hundred microns. This study is part of a larger work in which a multiphase, high shear environment is studied in a microchannel that has a depth of approximately 130 μm. Velocities are obtained using non-invasive imaging schemes. Laser induced fluorescent Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is used to analyze the velocity distribution in the microchannel. Multiple image processing techniques are used to optimize the images for correlation calculations. Velocity profiles for three flow rates and three void fractions (one of which is zero) are developed experimentally. The effect of the microbubbles on the PIV analysis is shown to flatten the profile through one primary mechanism and possibly a secondary, less dominant mechanism. / Graduation date: 2006

A detailed understanding of mass transport and water behavior in gas diffusion layers (GDLs) for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is vital to improving performance. Liquid water fills the porous GDL and electrode components, hindering mass transfer, limiting attainable power and decreasing efficiency. The behavior of liquid water in GDLs is poorly understood, and the specific nature of mass transfer of multiphase flow in GDLs are not known. There is no clear direct correlation between easily measurable ex-situ GDL material properties and mass transfer characteristics. This thesis addresses this knowledge gap through a combination of test procedure development, experimentation and numerical pore scale modeling. Experimental techniques have been developed to measure permeability and capillary properties of water and air in the GDL matrix. Pore network modeling is used to estimate transport properties as a function of GDL water saturation since these are extremely difficult to determine experimentally. A method and apparatus for measuring the relationship between air-water capillary pressure and water saturation in PEMFC gas diffusion layers is described. The developed procedure of Gas Controlled Porosimetry is more effective for understanding the behaviour of water in GDL material then traditional methods such as the method of standard porosimetry and mercury intrusion porosimetry. Capillary pressure data for water injection and withdrawal from typical GDL materials are obtained, which demonstrated permanent hysteresis between water intrusion and water withdrawal. Capillary pressure, defined as the difference between the water and gas pressures at equilibrium, is positive during water injection and negative during water withdrawal. The results contribute to the understanding of liquid water behavior in GDL materials which is necessary for the development of effective PEMFC water management strategies and the design of future GDL materials. The absolute gas permeability of GDL materials was measured. Measurements were made in three perpendicular directions to investigate anisotropic properties of various materials. Most materials were found to be significantly anisotropic, with higher in-plane permeability than through-plane permeability. In-plane permeability was also measured as the GDL was compressed to different thicknesses. Typically, compression of a sample to half its initial thickness resulted in a decrease in permeability by an order of magnitude. The relationship between measured permeability and compressed porosity was compared to various models available in the literature, one of which allows the estimation of anisotropic tortuosity. The results of this work will be useful for 3D modeling studies where knowledge of permeability and effective diffusivity tensors is required. A pore network model of mass transport in GDL materials is developed and validated. The model idealizes the GDL as a regular cubic network of pore bodies and pore throats following respective size distributions of the pores. With the use of experimental data obtained the geometric parameters of the pore network model were calibrated with respect to porosimetry and gas permeability measurements for two common GDL materials. The model was subsequently used to compute the pore-scale distribution of water and gas under drainage conditions using an invasion percolation algorithm. From this information, transport properties of GDLs that are very difficult to measure were estimated, including the relative permeability of water and gas, and the effective gas diffusivity as functions of water saturation. Comparison of the model predictions with those obtained from constitutive relationships commonly used in current PEMFC models indicates that the latter may significantly overestimate the gas phase transport properties. The pore network model was also used to calculate the limiting current in a PEMFC under operating conditions for which transport through the GDL dominates mass transfer resistance. The results suggest that a dry GDL does not limit the performance of a PEMFC, but water flooding becomes a significant source of concentration polarization as the GDL becomes increasingly saturated with water. This work has significantly contributed to the understanding of mass transfer in gas diffusion layers in PEMFC through experimental investigation and pore scale modeling.

A detailed understanding of mass transport and water behavior in gas diffusion layers (GDLs) for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is vital to improving performance. Liquid water fills the porous GDL and electrode components, hindering mass transfer, limiting attainable power and decreasing efficiency. The behavior of liquid water in GDLs is poorly understood, and the specific nature of mass transfer of multiphase flow in GDLs are not known. There is no clear direct correlation between easily measurable ex-situ GDL material properties and mass transfer characteristics. This thesis addresses this knowledge gap through a combination of test procedure development, experimentation and numerical pore scale modeling. Experimental techniques have been developed to measure permeability and capillary properties of water and air in the GDL matrix. Pore network modeling is used to estimate transport properties as a function of GDL water saturation since these are extremely difficult to determine experimentally. A method and apparatus for measuring the relationship between air-water capillary pressure and water saturation in PEMFC gas diffusion layers is described. The developed procedure of Gas Controlled Porosimetry is more effective for understanding the behaviour of water in GDL material then traditional methods such as the method of standard porosimetry and mercury intrusion porosimetry. Capillary pressure data for water injection and withdrawal from typical GDL materials are obtained, which demonstrated permanent hysteresis between water intrusion and water withdrawal. Capillary pressure, defined as the difference between the water and gas pressures at equilibrium, is positive during water injection and negative during water withdrawal. The results contribute to the understanding of liquid water behavior in GDL materials which is necessary for the development of effective PEMFC water management strategies and the design of future GDL materials. The absolute gas permeability of GDL materials was measured. Measurements were made in three perpendicular directions to investigate anisotropic properties of various materials. Most materials were found to be significantly anisotropic, with higher in-plane permeability than through-plane permeability. In-plane permeability was also measured as the GDL was compressed to different thicknesses. Typically, compression of a sample to half its initial thickness resulted in a decrease in permeability by an order of magnitude. The relationship between measured permeability and compressed porosity was compared to various models available in the literature, one of which allows the estimation of anisotropic tortuosity. The results of this work will be useful for 3D modeling studies where knowledge of permeability and effective diffusivity tensors is required. A pore network model of mass transport in GDL materials is developed and validated. The model idealizes the GDL as a regular cubic network of pore bodies and pore throats following respective size distributions of the pores. With the use of experimental data obtained the geometric parameters of the pore network model were calibrated with respect to porosimetry and gas permeability measurements for two common GDL materials. The model was subsequently used to compute the pore-scale distribution of water and gas under drainage conditions using an invasion percolation algorithm. From this information, transport properties of GDLs that are very difficult to measure were estimated, including the relative permeability of water and gas, and the effective gas diffusivity as functions of water saturation. Comparison of the model predictions with those obtained from constitutive relationships commonly used in current PEMFC models indicates that the latter may significantly overestimate the gas phase transport properties. The pore network model was also used to calculate the limiting current in a PEMFC under operating conditions for which transport through the GDL dominates mass transfer resistance. The results suggest that a dry GDL does not limit the performance of a PEMFC, but water flooding becomes a significant source of concentration polarization as the GDL becomes increasingly saturated with water. This work has significantly contributed to the understanding of mass transfer in gas diffusion layers in PEMFC through experimental investigation and pore scale modeling.

A VOF based multiphase Lattice Boltzmann method that explicitly prescribes kinematic boundary conditions at the interface is developed. The advantage of the method is the direct control over the surface tension value. The details of the numerical method are presented. The Saffman instability, Taylor instability, and flow of deformable suspensions in a channel are used as example-problems to demonstrate the accuracy of the method. The method allows for relatively large viscosity and density ratios.

In November 2000, the 4th Workshop on Measurement Techniques for Stationary and Transient Multiphase Flows took place in Rossendorf. Three previous workshops of this series were national meetings; this time participants from different countries took part. The programme comprised 14 oral presentations, 9 of which are included in these proceedings in full length. A special highlight of the meeting was the main lecture "Ultrasonic doppler method for bubbly flow measurement" of Professor Masanori Aritomi, Dr. Hiroshige Kikura and Dr. Yumiko Suzuki, which was read by Dr. Hiroshige Kikura. The workshop again dealt with high-resolution phase distribution and phase velocity measurement techniques based on electrical conductivity, ultrasound, laser light and high-speed cinematography. A number of presentations were dedicated to the application of wire-mesh sensors developed by FZR for different applications used by the Technical Universities of Delft and Munich and the Tokyo Institute of Technology. The presentations were in particular: M. Aritomi, H. Kikura, Y. Suzuki (Tokyo Institute of Technology): Ultrasonic doppler method for bubbly flow measurement V. V. Kontelev, V. I. Melnikov (TU Nishny Novgorod): An ultrasonic mesh sensor for two-phase flow visualisation A. V. Duncev (TU Nishny Novgorod): Waveguide ultrasonic liquid level transducers for power generating equipment H.-M. Prasser, E. Krepper, D. Lucas, J. Zschau (FZR), D. Peters, G. Pietzsch, W. Taubert, M. Trepte (Teletronic Ingenieurbüro GmbH), Fast wire-mesh sensors for gas-liquid flows and decomposition of gas fraction profiles according to bubble size classes D. Scholz, C. Zippe (FZR): Validation of bubble size measurements with wire-mesh sensors by high-speed video observation A. Manera, H. Hartmann, W.J.M. de Kruijf, T.H.J.J. van der Hagen, R.F. Mudde, (TU Delft, IRI): Low-pressure dynamics of a natural-circulation two-phase flow loop H. Schmidt, O. Herbst, W. Kastner, W. Köhler (Siemens AG KWU): Measuring methods for the investigation of the flow phenomena during external pressure vessel cooling of the boiling water reactor SWR1000 A. Traichel, W. Kästner, S. Schefter, V. Schneider, S. Fleischer, T. Gocht, R. Hampel (HTWS Zittau/Görlitz - IPM): Verification of simulation results of mixture level transients and evaporation processes in level measurement systems using needle-shaped probes S. Richter, M. Aritomi (Tokyo Institute of Technology): Methods for studies on bubbly flow characteristics applying a new electrode-mesh tomograph

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Kiel, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-145).